Pinecrest Acres: The Wrong Lead
by RogueMustangMare
Summary: For twelve year old, Katie, moving to Pinecrest Acres is a nightmare; she doesn't know anyone there, she has no friends, she misses her old home, her old barn, but what's worse everyone there doesn't seem to welcome her at all. Except Ashley Wean, but when Ashley plots a dangerous prank that could kill a fellow rider, will Katie stop her? Or will she stay as Ashley's "Doll"?
1. Prologue

Laura Stacy and Abby Goderich have been best friends ever since they had first met since Abby's family moved to Pinecrest Acres; sure they've had their ups and downs, but they've always come to an agreement in the end. But this time, they may not agree about one thing: what Katie's story is about. Laura knows Katie's story and the reason why she acts the way she does, but Abby believes that Katie is another Ashley Wean; and when Ashley takes Katie under her wing, it may be that Abby is right.

But when Katie comes to Laura telling her that Abby is in danger, will Laura believe her? Or, will she brush her off?

_June 01, 2001_

_Dear Diary,_

_ Phew, that was the last of my books, now all that's left is to throw away the tape and packing material, flatten the boxes, and place them in the garage downstairs; but first, I wanted to write in you for a bit dear Diary, since I have so much to write, and I believe you are the only one I can talk to without hearing the whole, "This is a great start for you" speech._

_ To start, I believe an introduction is in order, I'm Kateri Anne Czarnik, but please call me Katie; I'm fifteen years old, with shoulder-length chestnut-brown hair, gray-green eyes, tanned skin, about average height and weight. I live with my mom and dad, Donna and Richard Czarnik, and my younger sister, Caroline, or Carole as we call her, in our new house at Pinecrest Acres. But, before we moved here to Pinecrest, we used to own and live at Cherokee Stables, a breeding farm that bred and trained Warmbloods and Welsh ponies._

_ See, what happened is that, some guy bought land near where our farm was and built a factory that started spewing poisonous toxins into the air and water and many of our horses and ponies got sick; many of them died because of this sickness. The vet couldn't determine what the disease was but we had been forced into Quarantine for three months. Which meant that Mom and Dad couldn't offer breeding services and had to cancel many of the breeding sessions they'd had planned; it also meant that Carole and I couldn't go to Foster's Farms for our riding lessons._

_ Everything turned out fine though; they found the source of the toxic fumes, arrested the guy, and found him guilty. He paid us for the damage but, it wasn't enough; the insurance wasn't going to cover for the loss of the horses and ponies that had caught the disease and died, and Mom and Dad wouldn't accept the money Carole and I had made from her artwork and my books and from the competitions we had won._

_ Instead, they accepted the positions of breeding managers here at Pinecrest Acres, and Carole and I were transferred from Foster's Farms to Pinecrest Acres where we will continue our education in Equestrianism._

_ But . . . I don't want to be here. I want to be back home with Faith and all of my friends at Foster's; I want to go riding with Lisa on the trails. Me on one of the school horses, or even on Faith, while she rides her new horse. Faith . . . man, how can my parents have sold her to the son of these people? What if he mistreats her? I'd never forgive myself for giving in to letting him buy her if he doesn't take care of her._

_ **Sighs.** Carole's calling me down for dinner, I'll write later after the dishes are done._


	2. Chapter One

**Katie's P.O.V.:**

I clicked my pen close and closed my diary closed, locking it so that no one could read it. I sighed as I looked at the couple. Mom had thought that, since we were getting a fresh start, Carole and I should start new diaries; so, while Mom and Dad shopped for groceries to bring to the new house, Carole and I went to where they sold journals and chose two diaries. She chose a light-purple book with a darker-purple on the corners and binding of the book; it had a picture of a white horse with a pink rose in it's mouth.

"It reminds me of Charity," she said simply.

I saw one that reminded me of Faith, but I quickly scanned over it, not trusting myself to not bust out crying in the middle of the aisle, and quickly chose a light-blue book with a darker-blue on the corners and binding on it; on the cover was a black horse rearing in front of a forest fire.

"Katie, are you coming?" asked Carole's voice just outside my door.

"Yeah, give me a minute!" I replied pushing my desk chair back and standing up. I heard her running downstairs and shook my head; I knew once my mom found her running in the house, she'll launch into her "Don't run in the house" speech.

I sighed as I looked around my new room; it looked a lot like my old room. My bed with its stuff animals was tucked away in a corner underneath a window; my bookcase overflowing with books was up against one wall opposite from where I was. Pictures of my family, friends, and all of the horses and ponies I've known were in frames either hanging on the wall or on my dresser, on my desk, or on my nightstand. But, something was missing. Maybe it was the fact that boxes and packing material were still lying around on the floor, or that I still needed to situate my Breyer horse models to the way it had been.

_Or, maybe it's because Lisa's not sitting on the floor, getting ready to eat with you since her family would now be traveling while she stayed with your family _I thought.

Lisa's from a wealthy family; her mother had been some fashion model, while her father is a buys, trains, and sells Arabians for In-Hand competitions. Don't ask me why those two had a daughter since they rarely ever spent any time with her; according to Lisa though, the one good thing is that they pay for her riding career. And boy, did she work hard at it; just this past winter at the Pony Club National Championships, she walked away with a blue ribbon in the Equitation on the Flat and Over Fences on her pony, Silver.

_But now we're no longer able to be together every single day _I thought knowing that Lisa had been real upset that the only person who had ever treated her as more than just some rich girl. But had been an actual friend to her. I walked out of the room and down the stairs to where the smells of Mom's home cooking wafted towards me. _Smells like beef stew with French bread._

I descended from the stairs and turned left toward the dining room where everyone else was already there, waiting for me. But I still had one more thing to do so I headed towards the kitchen and the fridge.

Once I was done with what I needed to do, I headed back to the dining room and sat down in my seat at the table. I had been right; a pot of beef stew sat in the middle with a plate full of warm sliced French bread, and a bowl of salad.

"Let us pray," said Dad as soon as I lay my napkin in my lap.

We all clasped our hands together and bowed our heads while Dad said Grace and thanked God for the opportunity to start anew at Pinecrest Acres.

I tried not to roll my eyes at that statement. _Actually Lord, they're all glad to be here, me? I'd rather be back home with Lisa planning our next trail ride _I thought as Dad finished Grace and we began serving ourselves dinner.

Dinner was as usual, everyone talking about their day, with only one exception. I mainly spent my day unpacking so I didn't join in, which gave Carole plenty of time to talk about her day at the stable.

"I checked on Charity today, she's all nice and settled in her stall," she said, sounding happy at being reunited with her pony. Charity along with Mom and Dad's two horses had been sent ahead so that we wouldn't have to worry about caring for them while we packed and moved into our new home.

I concentrated on chewing on a potato. Charity was Carole's new pony after she had graduated from her old pony, Ginger. Charity was a sweet-natured palomino Welsh Section D mare, with a star on her forehead, and stands at thirteen-two hands high. More than likely, this will be her last pony, but . . . who knows.

"Well that's good," said Mom.

"Yeah, I also met some kids who might be in my class," said Carole. "Three of them weren't so nice though, but I did meet one who is. The first three were girls who were my age and they were dressed like they were going to a show."

"Now Carole they probably were going to a show and that's why they weren't very nice," said Dad.

She shook her head. "According to Jake they always dress like that," she replied. "That's because they're rich and they think they're better than everyone else."

I tried not to growl as she said that. Yeah, I've met a lot of riders who were rich spoiled brats, but Lisa proved that not every rich rider were brats. _I mean, how many times has she proved that by taking care of her ponies and now, taking care of her horse?_

"Oh, and speaking of riding, I've just received some news today," said Dad.

"Oh? What's that?" I asked.

"Max and Fern called me today and told me that they each have set up your riding assessments for tomorrow; Katie, your test is at one, Carole, your test is at three," replied Dad. "Carole, you will be riding for Fern in Large Pony Indoor Schooling Ring 1."

"Cool, will I be riding Charity?" asked Carole.

"No, she wants to see your riding skills on one their ponies since you and Charity are still getting used to each other," explained Dad.

I mentally scoffed. _Yeah, good luck Carole, since all their ponies and horses are robots _I thought, already knowing that I would be riding some horse that acts like a robot.

"Okay," said Carole looking disappointed that she wasn't going to be riding her pony.

_At least you got to keep your pony; I had to sell mine _I thought bitterly taking a sip of my lemonade.

"And Katie, you will be riding for Max in Indoor Schooling Ring 1," he explained. "He told me a little bit about the pony and horse you two will be riding."

"Really?" asked Carole.

"Uh-huh, Carole you'll be riding a mare that you two should know," he said. "Her name is Mystic."

My jaw dropped open for I knew exactly the pony Dad was talking about.

Mystic, a large dappled-gray Connemara/Thoroughbred mare, who stands at fourteen-two hands high, is a famous Large Pony Hunter Champion, but she's also particularly famous for competing in the Eventing circuit.

"And Katie, you will be riding a horse named Mercury," said Dad.

"Mercury?" I asked not recalling the horse's name.

"Yes, apparently, once you have passed a test you two will get to help train horses, or in your case, Carole, ponies, for anything," explained Dad.

"Okay . . . so what does that got to do with me?" I asked.

"Well, Mercury is at the point where he needs to be ridden by several riders to get him prepared for being sold and ridden by someone other than the owner," explained Dad. "Well, you came at the right time; everyone else already knows too much about him and won't be able to help much. So, Max has decided to let you ride him for the next six months until he's ready to be sold, and you have settled in."

I let out a sigh of frustration. _Great, just what I need; a horse that is probably either so green that not even a top rider can ride him or else is so much like Push-Button Pony I'll be bored by the time the day is even half-over._

"Katie this is a great opportunity," said Mom and I knew she was about to launch into the "Being able to start fresh" speech. "You'll get to ride a horse for the next six months or until you have found a horse of your own . . . and during that time, you can move forward in Dressage and in the Hunter division."

"And what? I finally get a horse and you guys sell it behind my back?" I asked angrily.

"Katie you knew Faith would have been sold whether or not the Quarantine had happened or not," said Mom. "You had outgrown her in skill-level and she was too young to be turned into a broodmare."

I knew what Mom was saying was true; Faith was eight years old and I had trained her since she was born right on the farm. When she was just five years old, I had started competing her in Large Pony Hunter Under Saddle and Over Fences while learning about Dressage at Foster's; but still, I didn't like the fact that, after all she's done for me while we were under Quarantine, she was sold to someone that I couldn't keep an eye on to make sure she was in good hands.

"I just don't understand why you guys couldn't have sold her to someone whom I knew would take care of her," I said.

"Because Mr. and Mrs. Stacy approached us about it first," said Dad. "Their son and daughter was also at the Pony Club National Championships and their son needed a new pony to take him further in the Hunter division."

I shook my head. "Fine, I'll ride their robotic pony, but I won't ever buy a horse," I said through gritted teeth and, grabbing some sliced bread that had butter on it, and spooning an extra helping into my bowl, I walked back to my room, kicking my door closed.

_ Oh Diary, how can they even begin to understand how I feel? It's not just the fact they sold my pony; they sold my second best friend! Yes, Lisa had been with me, even after my diagnosis, but when she couldn't be there, Faith was. And it's not just that. Don't they know that Foster's Farms and Pinecrest Acres are rivals?_

_ Which means that Carole and I are now riding for our old enemies!_

_ Which means that my old enemies are now my new colleagues . . . and my old friends are my new enemies . . ._


	3. Chapter Two

**Laura's P.O.V.:**

I breathed a breath of fresh air as Abby and I rode our horses across the meadow toward the driveway that would lead us back to the barn.

I looked over at Abby and frowned when I noticed that she was still having trouble with Maleficent, her storm-gray Andalusian gelding, who has four pasterns on his legs, and stands at sixteen-one hands high. Ever since this morning, the normally calm gelding was acting up, tossing his head, not listening to a thing Abby was telling him to do, and would sometimes dance without any warning.

Abby noticed me looking at her with concern. "I don't know, Laura; he's definitely not himself today," she said sounding tired.

"You checked him over before the ride right?" I asked keeping a safe space between us not wanting Starrie, my dark-bay French Trotter mare, with a diamond-shaped-star on her forehead, two stockings on her hindlegs, and stands at fifteen-seven hands high, from getting hurt.

"Yes, either he's having a bad day, or something unseen is happening," she replied.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Maleficent?" I asked jokingly to the gelding, hoping a light voice would calm him down.

It didn't work, he shied as soon as I started talking.

Abby sighed tiredly. "Do you think maybe a gallop would calm him down?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know . . . it might," I replied. "But it might also make him worse."

"Well, one way to find out," she said and tapped Maleficent into a gallop.

"Hey, no fair!" I called. "You got a head-start!" I add urging Starrie into a gallop.

Abby laughs. "Last one to the driveway is buying ice cream later!" she called.

From my view, it looked like a gallop was actually what Maleficent needed.

Not many people thought that Maleficent could ever become an Eventing prospect, and yet he could even beat some of my dad's Thoroughbreds in a race, and that's saying something considering Andalusian horses were mainly bred for the high school movements of Dressage.

I leaned forward over Starrie's withers, urging her to go a little faster.

My mare complied and dug her hooves into the earth. Like most French Trotters, she had been bred for Trotting Races, but I found that she made a great Show Jumper.

I laughed out loud and whooped loving the feeling of the wind in my face, the power of my mare beneath me . . . the blue car that was heading straight for us . . .

Wait? What?

Abby and I were almost at the opening that led onto the driveway and she was slowing her gelding down to a walk, knowing that she had already won the race, but she didn't notice the car that was coming straight at her.

"Abby watch out!" I yelled, praying that she would stop Maleficent in time.

As I watched, time seemed to slow down as Abby stopped Maleficent and the car squealed to a stop just inches away from them.

The rush of wind and dust from the vehicle was too much for the poor gelding, who was already upset about something, cause he started rearing up on his legs; the whites of his eyes showing.

"Whoa!" yelled Abby leaning forward trying to bring the gelding back down before they both got hurt.

I moved Starrie forward a bit, hoping that my mare's calm presence would calm him down.

Maleficent reared again, whinnying shrilly; his forehooves thrashing wildly.

Starrie whickered to her friend and it must have been something really comforting, since when Maleficent reared again, he only went halfway up. But when he brought his hooves back down to earth, they stayed down and I moved Starrie closer so that I could grab his reins and concentrate on Abby, who looked a little shaken.

_Can't exactly blame her, considering she just came close to being run-over _I thought as I heard three car doors open and close. When I looked over at the car, I almost cursed out loud. _God, out of all of the people you could have sent at this time, did you have to choose Donna and her daughters _I asked, wondering if he could even hear me.

"Are you two, okay?" asked Donna calmly walking toward us so as not to scare Maleficent again.

"Yeah, we're okay," I replied dismounting and motioning for Abby to do the same. This way, we were all on an even level and we wouldn't have any misunderstandings.

Too bad, Katie seemed to already be in a bad mood; the look on her face made me think it would be a long time before she settled in her new home.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she yelled at Abby.

"Hey you were the one who almost killed us!" replied Abby.

"What kind of idiot comes trotting out of nowhere and not keep an eye out for oncoming cars?" asked Katie. "Man if this is the type of riding everyone does here, I wouldn't be surprised to see them riding new horses every week!"

"Kateri Anne!" said Donna sounding angry herself.

"Well if you think you're so much better than us then go back home!" said Abby and turned around, leading her horse back to the barn instead of riding him.

"If I could I would you half-wit!" yelled Katie turning around and getting back into the car, slamming the door shut behind her.

Donna sighed. "I'm sorry, Laura, things have just been . . . really stressful," she said.

I shrugged. "I know, don't worry, I'll try to help in anyway I can," I replied meaning it with my heart. "I'm gonna head back before Abby yells at some poor rider for grooming her horse too loud," I add hoping my little joke would help lighten the mood.

Donna smiled a little, but it was strained. "Be safe alright?" she asked me.

I nodded and turned around leading Starrie up the driveway toward the barn.

_Man . . . this is not how I pictured introducing Abby and Katie _I thought as Donna and her daughters passed by us in their car. _Well . . . maybe it'll get better._

But when I caught up with Abby, I knew it would be a long time before she ever forgave Katie.

"Tells me that I'm a reckless rider . . . can you imagine anyone telling us that?" she asked angrily. "I mean doesn't she know that every rider here actually takes care of their horse? How many riders did that at that . . . fancy exclusive riding school of her's?"

While she was talking Maleficent was prancing nervously.

"Abby will you calm down? You're scaring your horse," I said trying to be calm since the gelding was already scared by his owner's ranting.

She stopped and took several deep breaths before turning to her horse and stroking his neck. "I'm sorry boy, I didn't mean to make you upset," she whispered.

Maleficent snorted and calmed down, but . . . he still looked anxious.

"You know, Katie doesn't really want to be here," I said. "I"m sure she's just upset at having to move away from her home and friends, selling her pony . . ."

"Yeah, but she didn't have to take it out on us, and if she's still upset about her pony being sold, she needs to get over it," said Abby. "I was there at the Pony Club National Championships, she should have known that she would have had to sell that pony at some point."

I sighed, knowing that if I told the story, Abby still wouldn't understand the pain Katie was going through. _And even then, I can't tell her the real reason why Faith was so special _I thought remembering the bracelet I had seen on Katie's wrist.

As we reached the barn, we saw the usual hustle and bustle of a typical day at the barn. There was a Dressage lesson going on in Outdoor Dressage Arena 3, a schooling lesson where a student was teaching the horse to accept being ridden without a lounge line. A couple of students were coming back from a Cross-Country practice.

"Hey, there's David and Charlie," I said gently nudging Abby with my elbow.

Abby smiled knowingly. "So, is the celebration still on for tonight?" she asked.

I nodded thinking about the little birthday party we all had planned for David. It was a little Pinecrest tradition that we would celebrate each rider's birthday as a family, and turning thirteen was a pretty big event for anyone.

"Hey girls," said Charlie as we met up at the entrance to the barn and he and David dismounted from their horses. "Maleficent still give you problems?" he asked noticing how sweaty the gelding was.

"Yeah, I don't know what's wrong, but we also had a bit of an incident on the way up here," explained Abby as we led our horses into the barn toward their stalls.

As Abby told them what happened, I looked at my four friends and their horses.

We've been best friends ever since each of us had met.

Abby, a twelve year old girl with short strawberry-blonde hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, short, and slender, had moved to Pinecrest with her family when she was just five years old. Her family had owned a training farm when a lawsuit had ended her parents' careers, but they thankfully found a fresh start here. Abby trains and competes in Eventing and Hunt Seat competitions. She was artistic and a bit scatterbrained at times, but when it comes to horses and art, she's focused.

Charlie, a thirteen year old boy with messy red hair, green eyes, pale skin, tall, and average weight, had started riding at Pinecrest Acres when he was nine years old. His family had moved to the area from London, England; and, I gotta say, out of his whole family, I only like his mother. His dad's a banker at the nearby Wells Fargo, his mom's a stay-at-home mom; his sister, on the other hand . . . needs a reality check. And literally, daddy's little girl and momma's little boy are definitely real.

Charlie trains and competes in Musical Dressage and in Hunt Seat Equitation, and he's got the perfect horse for; Gent, a dappled-gray Lipizzaner stallion, who stands at sixteen hands high, was actually born and bred at the Piber stud farm in Austria, before his father bought him for Charlie. Of course, he didn't want Charlie to become a horse rider, he wants Charlie to follow in his footsteps and become a banker.

Yeah . . . some parents can be real jerks like that.

David, a thirteen year old boy with messy black hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, tall, and lean, on the other hand . . . his family makes about as much sense as Charlie's family does; his parents weren't married when they had him and it kind of got worse from there before he came to us six years ago. And boy, did he grow in skill-level, he was already training one horse and owned a young off-track Thoroughbred gelding named Diablo for Equitation and Show Jumping.

It took us an hour to get the horses rubbed down and put into their stalls; we were in the Tack Room, cleaning our tack, when Mrs. Reg, Max's mother, came in.

"Ah, David, there you are," she said. "I've been looking for you."

"Oh? Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Oh yes, it's just that we have a new student and Max thinks we have a new rider to help with Mercury," she explained.

"Oh . . . really?" he asked, sounding a little nervous.

I couldn't blame him for being nervous; every time a new rider rides one of the horses I'm training, I get nervous wondering if they're going to hurt or ruin the horse.

"Yes, so when you're finished with your tack, meet Max in his office please?" she replied and left.

"Better hope it's not that new girl," said Abby as David finished cleaning his saddle and placed it on the saddle rack.

"Why?" asked David.

"Cause she might another Ashley Wean, Kiersten Clarke, and Chelsea Stewart," she warned.


	4. Chapter Three

**Max's P.O.V.:**

_ Man, I need a vacation _I thought as I shifted in my desk chair, trying to get comfortable as I listened to Ashley complain about her horse not being ready for her private lesson.

"His stall wasn't even clean, he hadn't been groomed . . . and, when I did try to get the bridle on him, Storm flinched!" she whined.

"Ashley how long have you been riding here?" I asked.

"Since I was nine," she replied sounding annoyed that I wasn't jumping down Red's throat for not taking care of Ashley's horse.

"Then you should know by now that the student is to take care of their own horse everyday if they own a horse," I explained, getting really tired of always having to explain this to her. "You own a horse and you board it here, it is your responsibility to take care of your horse and, if you have a lesson, to get him ready yourself."

"But my parents pay a lot of money for me and my brother to ride here, they did not pay all that money for us to do chores, despite what my brother may think," she replied.

"Well from what your mother told me this morning, she wants you to make a serious commitment and start taking an interest in Storm," I said.

"And what did Daddy say?" she asked.

"I haven't spoken with him, but she assures me that he also thinks it's a good idea," I explained as a knock at the door broke the silence. "So, if I were you, Storm could probably use a good grooming and his stall, from what you say, needs a good cleaning, so I'd get to work on that if I were you."

She huffs, turns on her heels, and storms out of my office.

I sighed and shook my head._ How can a beautiful horse like that have such a spoiled brat for an owner I'll never know _I thought sitting up as I motioned for Donna and her two daughters to enter my office.

"We weren't interrupting anything were we?" asked Donna as she and her daughters entered my office, closing the door behind Carole.

"No . . . no, just a little conversation with one of my problem students," I explained.

"'Problem students'?" asked Katie.

"Long story," I replied. "So, are you ready for your test, Katie?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, but I could see that she wanted to be taken serious as a rider. While she wasn't wearing a show outfit, she was wearing clean jodhpurs, polished riding boots, and a clean blue show shirt.

"Alright, now the owner of the horse you're going to be riding will be here in a minute, but I want to go over what we'll be doing today," I said gesturing for them to sit down.

They took three of the four chairs I have in front of my desk.

"First, from what I've read in your file," I begin opening the file in front of me. "You train and compete in all disciplines, but you specialize in Dressage and Hunter?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Alright, well the first part of the test is on the flat, then we'll do some jumping," I explained. "I've spoken with your riding instructor and got a pretty good idea about how much you've learned so far, but I would like to see it for myself."

A knock at the door told me that David had arrived.

"Come in!" I called.

The door opened to reveal David standing in the doorway.

"You wanted to see me, Max?" he asked.

"Yes, I'd like you to meet Kateri Czarnik," I replied motioning with my head for him to take a seat. "Katie this is David Scott, he's Mercury's owner."

"Hey," he said sitting down.

"Hello," she replied. "So, what can you tell me about him?"

"Well . . . I've had him for two years, when I bought him he just a green horse who couldn't do much on the flat, and didn't even know how to jump," he explained. "He's used to a guy riding him, but we'd also like to see a girl riding him so that he'd get used to different people riding him."

She nodded. "Okay," she said.

"Well, if you're both ready, David go show Katie where Mercury is stalled and help her get him ready; the test is in Indoor Schooling Ring 1," I said.

"Got it," they said and left the office.

Donna turned to look at me, looking shocked. "Well . . . I thought she would have had an attitude problem," she said.

"Oh . . . David has that about him, he's a bit laid-back," I explained and took out a sheet of paper. "I've made a copy of your daughter's medical history and also I've told the staff about her condition; I didn't tell any of the students, I believe that's her responsibility to let them know in her own time."

"Thank you," she said. "It's been hard on her that's why she was so upset when we sold Faith."

I nod. "I can imagine it was hard, but don't you worry, I'm sure she'll settle in soon," I replied.

"Max!" came Kiersten's voice.

I sighed. _I need a vacation _I thought tiredly.


End file.
